PROJECT SUMMARY TO CLINICAL AND TRANSLATION CORE Kidney diseases predispose affected individuals to high rates of end stage renal disease (ESRD), cardiovascular disease (CVD) and premature death. With nearly 30 million Americans estimated to have chronic kidney disease, the healthcare costs are tremendous. Identification of novel mechanisms for the pathogenesis of kidney diseases and related complications is urgently needed to improve adverse clinical outcomes and to reduce the financial burden on the US healthcare system. The George M. O'Brien Kidney Research Core Center at Northwestern University (NU-GoKIDNEY) will promote and support research into the discovery of novel therapeutics that will transform the prevention and treatment of kidney diseases and eventually lead to cures. The Center will join basic and clinical investigators to conduct translational research focused on the discovery of novel therapeutic modalities for patients with kidney diseases. Research catalyzed by the Preclinical Models Core and the Therapeutics Development Core will lead to discoveries of novel therapies, which will be translated into patients through the activities of the Clinical and Translational Core. The Core Leaders will work together to synergistically advance the Center?s chief goal of finding new treatments that will improve the lives of patients with kidney diseases. The Clinical and Translational Core will provide a centralized environment, essential resources and multi- disciplinary expertise to safely and ethically translate and target the discoveries identified by the Preclinical Model and Therapeutics Development Cores into the right patient population. We will efficiently connect investigators with: (1) the most appropriate components of the existing clinical research infrastructure; (2) relevant analytic experts; (3) well-matched talent in methods not commonly used in nephrology research, (4) unique data and biosample repositories; and (5) community-based research study participants and leaders in bioethics and medical humanities. Our goals are: (1) to enhance the integration of institutional strengths in clinical research; (2) to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration within and between the Cores; (3) to introduce new disciplines into the field of kidney diseases research; (4) to improve the ability of investigators to phenotype participants through access to data and biosample repositories; and (5) to enrich the experience of study participants by enlisting involvement of bioethicists, study participants and community providers in the development of research protocols. By leveraging our strong institutional environment, existing resources and multidisciplinary expertise, the Clinical and Translational Core will accelerate the translation of preclinical discoveries into meaningful health improvements for patients with kidney diseases.